Picnic tables that can be disassembled or folded up for storage or transport are well known. Many designs for such picnic tables include a tubular frame upon which the tabletop and benches are mounted. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,658 to Mayol and U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,880 to Gastebled.
Other designs have been proposed in which all the major components of the picnic table are flat wooden pieces, with no tubular frame. U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,305 to Sullivan, for instance, discloses a knockdown mobile picnic table and bench assembly. Cooperating tab elements and apertures releasably interlock a pair of bench members and a table top with a pair of leg members. Wooden tabs and apertures, however, are likely to suffer dimensional changes as the wood wears, and the resulting looser tolerances may compromise the stability of the assembled picnic table.
When disassembled, the picnic table disclosed by Sullivan may be rolled about on wheels. Although this design is not easily hand carried or transported in the trunk of an automobile, U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,812 to Commanda discloses a picnic table that folds up and includes a handle so the unit can be carried. Unfortunately, the picnic table taught by Commanda does not include benches.